Cinder-Ella
by Orion-Sacred Arrow
Summary: Cinder Fall was under constant abuse as a child at the hands of her stepmother and stepsisters. Now, she has a chance to finally escape! Will Cinder become the greatest huntress to have ever existed, or will she fall, like many others? (Set in an AU, based of the Cinderella theory.)(Falling Petals)
1. Prologue

"Cinder, wash the dishes." A voice commanded.

"Yes mom." A black haired girl dressed in rags hurried towards the sink and started soaking the dirty dishes in water.

"Cinder, polish the shoes." Another voice spoke.

"Yes sister." Cinder finished washing the dishes and started polishing the fine leather shoes that sat in a dusty cupboard.

"Cinder, go make dinner."

"Yes sister."

"Cinder, go–"

–––

Cinder collapsed onto her bed.

Actually, it couldn't even be called a bed. It was just a bunch of stitched up fabric with a little bit of cotton in it.

Lying down on her bed, Cinder started crying.

–––

It had been one year ago.

A year after Cinder's mother had died, her father came home one day with another woman and two girls of about Cinder's age.

He had introduced the woman as his new wife, and the two girls as his new sisters.

At first, it was okay. The wife ignored Cinder, while the two girls would occasionally tease her, but nothing too bad.

However, after her father died, their attitudes towards her changed.

They started treating her less like a human, and more like a burden Cinder's father had dumped on them.

Soon, however, they realised that they could use her as a tool. A convenient tool for doing whatever they saw fit.

And that was how her abuse began.

–––

Her sisters both had impressive semblances. One could manipulate fire, the other, ice.

This only served to fuel their sense of superiority, and Cinder's life got worse.

Little did they know, "little" Cinder had already unlocked her semblance.

She had, many years ago.

It was called–

"The Midnight Bell."

* * *

**AN: Hello, everyone. This is the start of my new story, Cinder-ella. Many of you may know the Cinderella theory about Cinder/best girl, but this one is quite different. As for how, please continue reading to find out! (Haha). This is meant just to be a prologue, and so, leaves a lot of questions unanswered. I hope to see you all next time!**


	2. The Ruby Red Glass Slippers

Another scream pierced the night.

The crying of a baby rang out from behind, but was quickly silenced, followed by the sound of a raven cawing.

As Cinder watched this, she stood, frozen, struck with horror.

_How did this happen?_

–––

~Half an hour earlier.

"Cinder, you have five minutes to feed the chickens before I come over and _stuff _all of the feed down your throat!" A voice screamed from inside the house.

"Sorry..." Cinder muttered as she continued to feed the chickens, "I'll be faster!"

A few minutes later, she finished, and entered the house.

"Good, you're here.." Her stepsister said, pointing at a broom in the middle of the room, "I saw a speck of dust this morning. It half scared me to death! You're going to sweep the floor until it's sparkling clean, and until you do, you're not having any food."

Cinder grabbed the broom, tightly gripping it.

"Well? Do you understand?" The voice continued.

"No." Cinder replied.

"No?" Her sister screamed, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Cinder smiled, "I won't obey you any longer."

"Ever since I've known you, all I've ever heard was complaints, and orders." Cinder continued, "I'm tired of this charade, you know? Even a caged chicken has to spread its wings once in a while."

"You… How dare you speak to me like that!" Ice shards appeared in the air, shooting towards Cinder.

Right before they hit her, two wings sprouted out of Cinder's back, and covered her body, shielding her.

There was a pinging sound as the ice bounced off.

"Glass?" Her sister muttered.

The wings on Cinder's back disappeared, shattering into tiny shards of glass, which formed two shields that stood in front of her, blocking the incoming ice shards.

The shields shattered into glass shards again, which formed two spears that flew at her stepsister. Right before they were about to hit, a wall of flame blocked them.

"Cinder, what are you doing?" Cinder's other sister asked her.

"What should have been done a long time ago." Cinder responded, and the glass spears split up into eight glass daggers that floated around her.

**(AN: This is basically like Penny's weapon, but glass, and without the green laser beam part. And less swords/daggers)**

"You were too filled with arrogance that you failed to notice what was in front of you." Cinder said, glaring at them, "That was the reason why you lost."

Then, after a moment of pause, she added, "And your stupidity, of course."

"You bitch!" Her sister screamed out, firing blasts of flame at her, "Why did we bother to even take you in?! You're just a no-good waste of space!"

"See, this is exactly why you're still single." Cinder said, chuckling into her fist, "That attitude of yours is driving them away."

The flames flew at her, forming a spiral shape.

Cinder responded in kind by twirling the floating blades around in a circle, blocking the flames.

Suddenly, an ice crystal materialised behind her and flew to strike her back, but was quickly blocked by a glass shield that appeared behind her back.

Her sister laughed, "Cinder, you may try to act all strong and powerful, but I've realised the problem with your semblance."

Cinder beckoned with her head, telling her to continue.

"You can only create a set amount of glass every time, right? That's why you dematerialise your weapons instead of just making new ones straight off the bat."

Cinder smiled.

"So, if we want to beat you, we just have to attack you multiple times at once!" Ice and fire filled the air, blasting Cinder with an array of the two elements.

When the smoke cleared, a blinding rainbow blocked both of their eyes momentarily. When their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw a massive glass flower surrounding Cinder.

"So, sister, what was that about my limit?" Cinder smiled. The glass rose bloomed, and sent glass shards flying everywhere, pinning them both to the walls.

"Ah, it feels so good to be able to spread my wings again after so long." Cinder said, smiling. With a flick of her wrist, her tattered sandals changed into two glass slippers.

Cinder stepped outside of the door, and glanced at the blue sky.

And then a person screamed.

–––

"What?" Cinder quickly glanced around, looking for the source of the noise.

Her eyes flicked over dead corpses, both human and animal.

Above, death circled.

–––

"A nevermore." Cinder said, "And it's gigantic."

She stared down the bird-like creature before sticking out her arm, a glass sword appearing in it.

Next, she raised her other arm and sent two glass spears flying towards both of the nevermore's wings, trying to pierce them and bring the grimm to the ground, but the nevermore swerved to the left and dodged both of them.

Cinder snapped her fingers, and the spears flew back, changing form into thousands of minuscule glass shards which bombarded the nevermore. It gave a large shriek as it descended to the ground, preparing to eliminate the threat to itself.

"Guh–" Cinder raised her hand as a glass pillar shot out in front of her, hitting the nevermore squarely in it's chest. However, it didn't seem to harm it, only serving to enrage it even further.

"It's too tough for me too pierce!" Cinder groaned, "Looks like I'll have to ramp this up a bit… I really didn't want to use any of my charges, but it looks like I'll have no choice."

"Activate Stage 1 – Fairy Godmother."

There was a sudden dip in Cinder's aura, and then it spiked again, way past it's peak limit normally.

If it was previously a dormant butterfly, it now raged with the wrath of a dragon.

The nevermore, surprised by this sudden change in events, screeched and flew up, then dived down.

Cinder dodged the beak and pressed her hand to the nevermore's chest, then screamed, "Glass Wave!"

A wave of glass blasted out from her palm, impaling the nevermore's chest and continuing to fire out at a rapid pace.

In a few seconds, Cinder ran out of aura and collapsed onto the ground, barely avoiding falling unconscious.

But the nevermore was better off.

Slowly, it rose off the ground, a massive glass shard still in it's chest.

Cinder gave out a small gasp of shock.

The nevermore didn't notice her, and went on to continue feeding.

Slowly, it made its way to Cinder's sisters.

Her sisters screamed, throwing fireballs, ice shards at the nevermore with all of their might.

But it did nothing to the nevermore.

The nevermore lunged, and her sister tried to dodge to the side.

Instead of hitting her chest like the nevermore had intended. It only plucked out her eye.

She screamed, repeatedly throwing fireballs at the nevermore, but to no avail. It moved in and plucked out both eyes of Cinder's other sister as well, before finally stabbing its sharp beak through their necks.

They let out a final scream before collapsing, dead.

–––

Cinder froze. Her aura once again changed, from that of a tired dragon to an enraged demon.

"If they were going to die anyway..." Cinder said, "YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST LET ME BE THE ONE TO END THEIR LIVES!"

"Second Stage – The Pumpkin Coach."

Cinder's aura soared again, this time high enough to start making the grimm feel uncomfortable.

Cinder rushed forward, two massive swords appearing in the air behind her.

The two blades attacked at two different angles, forming an X shape as it carved it's way through the air.

_Shing!_

With a flash, the two wings of the nevermore was cut off, and it dropped to the ground.

Cinder smirked. The two blades merged together to create a massive spear that floated in the sky.

"Take… This!" Cinder shouted, and the spear dropped from the sky, impaling the nevermore.

With a shriek, the nevermore turned into black ash.

Panting, Cinder dropped to the ground.

From the edge of her vision, she saw hazy outlines of people walking towards her.

"Hey, are you okay?" A kind voice said, "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. We're huntresses."

Cinder collapsed.

–––

Cinder woke up in a hospital bed.

She glanced around, but her vision was still blurry.

"Ah, you're awake." A voice beside her said, "You've probably forgotten, so I'll say it again. My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

Cinder shook her outstretched hand, "My name is Cinder. Cinder Fall."

"Ms. Fall, is it? It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding the… incident, if you are comfortable talking about it."

Cinder shifted, "Yes… it's fine."

"Very well then. First, was it you who killed the nevermore?"

"Yes."

"You displayed remarkable skills and proficiency with your aura. Were you trained?"

"No, I wasn't."

"Then how did you get so strong?"

"I always would… watch my sisters when they were practicing, and I got the hang of it."

"Interesting. Ms. Fall, do you have any profession or interest in mind?"

"I've always wanted to be a huntress since I was a child… it's just that my parents wouldn't let me go to Signal academy, so I'm doubtful about my chances of getting into Beacon."

"Well then. Do you know who I am?" Glynda asked.

"You're Glynda Goodwitch, the headmistress of Beacon Academy, right?"

"Yes. Now, Ms. Fall, would you like to enroll in my school?"

"Really? Can I? Thank you so much!" Cinder said, ecstatic.

"The entrance exam will start next week, so that will give you some time to get yourself organised before it starts."

"Thank you."

–––

After Glynda left, Cinder sat on her bed, still jubilant.

She was going to _the _Beacon academy! The pinnacle of all fighting academies!

Just the thought filled her with joy.

Of course, she would still have to pass the entrance exam, but with Cinder's skills, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Cinder got out of bed and took a quick stretch, before taking a look out the window.

Judging by the appearance of the buildings and the amount of people, Cinder guessed that she was in the city of Vale.

She had been here only once before, when she was forced to tag along and carry her sister's bags as they explored the big city.

"I should do some training before the exam…" Cinder thought to herself as she got dressed into her normal clothes and glass slippers, "I also need more charges for midnight bell…"

Cinder sighed.

–––

Cinder swung her glass swords, cleaving a Beowolf in half. As the others advanced, she twirled through their ranks as if she was dancing, cutting them into pieces. An alpha appeared in the bushes, and Cinder raises her hand, shooting out a pillar of glass and piercing the Beowolf's head.

"Isn't there _anything _strong here?" Cinder complained.

Just then, the bushes rustled and a king taijitu slithered our.

"Ah, there we go." Cinder said contently, "Bring it."

The king taijitu bared its fangs and slithered towards Cinder.

"Now… let's try this." Cinder raised her arm, "Glass wa–"

_Shing!_

A scythe cut off the king taijitu's first head, and Cinder narrowly managed to re-angle her attack so it hit the white half.

A massive cone of glass smashed the white head into pieces.

Cinder sighed and looked at the scythe-wielding person.

It was a young girl, about the age of 15. She had red hair and a red cape that was one hundred percent too big for her.

"Heya! Nice to meet you!" The girl said, waving, her scythe still slung over her shoulder, "My name is Ruby Rose! Yeah, like the flower… I don't know _what _my ancestors were thinking when they decided to name themselves after a flower, like, seriously..."

Ruby trailed off, looking a bit dejected.

"I'm Cinder Fall. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruby." Cinder stuck out her hand, and Ruby shook it, "So, why are you here?"

"Well, the entrance exam for Beacon is happening soon, and I want to get some last-minute practice in before that!"

"You're… going to Beacon? Aren't you a bit too young?"

"I am, but Professor Glynda accepted me in, so it's fine!"

"I see." Cinder said, "Well, good luck, Ruby. I'll see you in a few days."

And she walked off.

"In a few days?" Ruby muttered to herself, tilting her head.

–––

~Six days later, Beacon Academy.

Cinder walked through the hallways, trying to find her way to the opening ceremony.

"Cinder!" A voice sounded from beside her.

Cinder glanced around, "Oh, it's you, Ruby."

"You're applying for Beacon as well? That's so cool! I can't wait to work alongside you!"

_So much energy_. Cinder thought to herself as she looked at Ruby.

"Hey, do you know where the training arena is? We're supposed to go there for our opening ceremony."

"Well..." Cinder glanced around, "That way."

She pointed to the north.

"Omigosh! How did you know? Is it your semblance?"

"No." Cinder said, chuckling, "I can just read signs."

She pointed at a wooden directory.

–––

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy!" Glynda said, speaking into a microphone, "Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

She continued, looking over each and every student.

"The entrance exam will start tomorrow. Tonight, you will go to your dormitories and get some rest. Meet in front of the Emerald Forest tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

The students filed out, moving to the dormitories, where they would be resting.

–––

~5 hours later.

Cinder lied down on her bed, looking up at the glassy ceiling.

"..." Cinder muttered to herself, "This is the most comfortable I've ever been."

"Cinder!" A voice shouted from beside her, "This is my sister Yang."

Cinder turned around, "Oh, it's you, Ruby."

"Hi!" The blonde said to Cinder, waving at her, "I'm Yang Xiao Long."

"Cinder Fall."

They shook hands.

"So, where are you from?" Ruby asked.

"Vale."

"I mean, of course we know you're frp, Vale, but which part of Vale?"

"I don't know."

"C'mon! There's no way you don't know."

"I don't."

"You do!"

"How would you know that?"

"I just do!"

They continued bickering.

"Umm… Could you guys please quiet down?" Cinder turned around and looked at the source of the voice.

He was definitely older then Cinder, maybe 17 or 18. He had white hair and wore strangely shaped glasses. In his hands, he held a cane.

"Uhh, I'm Ozpin. My friend and I are trying to read, and well… it's not exactly the best of places right now with your bickering."

"Oh! I'm so sorry." Cinder said, "What book are you reading?"

"Ah, it's this one." Ozpin said, taking it out of his pocket. It was a petite, small book that couldn't have contained too much. He flipped open a page and continued, "It's about this boy who constantly wonders why he exists, wandering Remnant as he tries to find a way for him to justify his own existence. Finally, he realises that he can't, so he commits suicide."

He showed her a page.

It was tightly packed with extremely small words, small enough that Cinder could barely make it out with her eyes when squinting.

"That's… interesting." Cinder said, "Who's your friend?"

"She's over there." Ozpin said, pointed at a spot near the window-side.

A white haired girl waved at Cinder. Her skin was ghastly white, and she seemed so ephemeral, as if a touch would cause her to disappear. Under her hair was two red eyes.

"Yeah, she's called Salem. She might be kind of shy at first, but I promise she's a good person when you meet her." Ozpin continued, but his words were cut off as a blob of water hit the back of his head, causing him to splutter.

"I swear, if you ever do that again, I won't be so merciful." Salem said from across the room.

"Yes, yes, yes, sorry." Ozpin said, retreating, "Well, I guess that cuts our meeting short. See all of you tomorrow!"

He waved and retreated.

A moment later, there was a scream of pain and he dropped down into a dogeza.

–––

~The next day, the cliffs above the Emerald Forest.

"Well, children." Glynda said, "Today we will be holding your entrance exam."

A few snickers were cut off when she glared at the perpetrators.

"I'm sure many of you have wondered, or are wondering, how your teams will be formed. Well, wonder no more. All your teams will be decided today."

There were a few sarcastic gasps.

_How childish_. Cinder thought to herself.

"The first person you make eye contact with once you land will be your partner. You will make your way north with your partner, and take a relic from the temple. You will then make your way to the cliffs on the other side."

"Umm… Ms. Goodwitch?" A yellow haired boy asked, "You say, land… are we jumping?"

"No, we are launching you."

A person flew off.

"Uh, then, did you hand out parachutes earlier or something?"

Another person flew off.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."

Ruby flew off this time, her cloak billowing in the wind.

"So, what is this landing strategy thing–" Jaune stopped as he was launched into the air, "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh–"

"What a baby." Cinder muttered to herself, chuckling into her fist, as she was launched off.

After they were all gone, Professor Oobleck, the other supervisor of the exam, turned to Glynda, "Glynda."

"Yes?"

"You know that new person you admitted?"

"Ah, you mean Ms. Fall?"

"Yes. Out of curiosity, what made her stand out so much that you admitted her last minute?"

Glynda smiled.

"Just you watch."

–––

"Alright then." Cinder said, speaking to herself as she fell through the air, "Let's do this."

She raised her hand, and a slope of glass appeared in the air, where she skidded down and landed on the floor.

"Now, north." Cinder said, making a few mental checks before turning to her left and starting to walk.

_Rustle, rustle._

The bushes shook, and a Beowolf jumped out.

A moment after it had howled, a glass shard pierced its head and it died, bursting into black ash.

Moments later, however, Cinder was surrounded by a swarm of Beowolves.

"This is gonna be a loooong day." Cinder said to herself as two blades appeared in the air around her, floating in a circle.

–––

~In the forest, with Ruby.

_Awoooooooooo._

**(AN: Wolf Noises.)**

"Beowolves?" Ruby muttered to herself, "Somebody might be in trouble!"

Turning into a storm of roses, Ruby flew through the air.

–––

"Hah!" The blades pierced two Beowolves before returning to Cinder. She grasped both of them and ran forward, moving through the Beowolves like a flash of light.

The next minute, all the Beowolves were dead.

Cinder heard another bush rustling, and she turned around, returning her blades to their original positions – floating around her.

"Are you okay?" Ruby said as she ran out of the bushes, a scythe in hand, "Oh, it's you, Cinder! What happened to the Beowolves?"

"Dead." Cinder said, "Guess that means we're partners?"

–––

Ozpin walked through the forest, twirling his staff.

He had already killed four beowolves, two ursas, and a king taijitu.

"Ugh, where did Sale go?" He muttered to himself. He reached a crossroad and paused then said to the air, "Janus, which direction?"

"You _finally _let me out. Well, Ozzie, depends on what you want. Go ask Jinn." A two-faces humanoid emerged from inside Ozpin's pocket, smiling as he returned back into the pocket.

"Urgh, you're going to drive me crazy. Fine, Jinn. Where's Salem?" Online asked. As he did, a blue-skinned woman with long hair appeared from incisive his pocket.

"Salem is quite close, Ozzie. Just take a turn left and keep walking forward and you'll find her."

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me Ozzie? I mean, Oz is fine, but Ozzie is _really _starting to get on my nerves." Ozpin muttered as Jinn returned back into his pocket.

"And, forward!" Ozpin said as he spun his cane around.

–––

A burst of wind blasted an Ursa into dust.

Salem yawned.

"I wonder where Oz is."

The bush rustled.

"Oh, Sale!" Ozpin said as he walked out of the bushes, "Finally found you."

"Ozzie! Did you miss your big sis?"

"I've told you dust knows how many times, we're the same damming age!"

–––

"Sooooo, do you know where to go?" Ruby asked Cinder as they walked through the forest.

"Yeah, approximately." Cinder said, looking at the sky, "Since the sun is setting that way," she gestured with her hand, "North is this way."

"Oh! That's so cool!"

An Ursa leapt out of the bushes, but was instantly killed by a shard of glass.

–––

"This year's students really are something, eh?" Professor Oobleck said as he looked at the fights through a scroll.

"Mhm." Glynda said, smiling, "A silver eyed warrior and an Ancient in the same team, this should be interesting."

* * *

**AN: Alrighty, some new things happening with this chapter. Cinder's family is killed! She's accepted into Beacon! Whoo!****(For those of you who noticed the reference about the nevermore, kudos for you, I'll reveal it in the next for those who didn't, please don't kill me if I forget.)  
****Yes, Ozpin and Salem are students. In this version, Ozma doesn't exist and Salem is Ozpin's "Big Sis", as she puts it. Both of their designs are similar to the future ones, just make them look less old. If Salem is good, who's the big bad? Let's fine out. Next time. xD. I'll also cover their semblance's later, but ya'll may have a few guesses about them anyway.  
Cinder is something called an ancient? What is this strange development? What is an ancient anyway?  
Find out next time.  
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it's about 3600 words. The next chapter will probably finish off the Emerald Forest part.**

**This is a kind of old fashioned thing, but I like to respond to each and every review that I receive, to give every individual acknowledgement for their acknowledgement of me.**

**Merendinoemiliano: Hah, bet this chapter wasn't what you thought it was, was it? I don't enjoy spoiling anything in the AN, so continue reading to find out!**

**HeartOfChaos13: Wow, I'm thrilled that you thought that that 350 word-ish prologue was really good, wonder how you think about this one?**

**Amelia: This story is _very _different from Cannon, and some characters might be slightly OOC (Read: Cinder is OOC), but I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

**The Nevermore thanks everyone who favourited, followed or reviewed this chapter!**

**See you next time!**

**PS: I _really _need a chapter name for this one, any suggestions are welcome! If anybody wants to talk to me about what they thought of this chapter or any suggestions or queries they may have about this story, go ahead and put it in a review, and I'll answer it in the next chapter, or, you can send me a PM if you want!**


	3. Shadow Over the Emerald Forest

"Take this!" Ruby screamed as she swung her scythe around in a circle, cutting multiple grimm into pieces.

Cinder sighed, "She really is different in combat."

A rain of small glass needles fell from the sky, killing the stragglers.

Cinder looked around, then sky. But there were too many trees, and she couldn't see the sun.

"Fuck. We're lost." Cinder sighed.

At that, Ruby suddenly cheered up, "No problem! I've got an amazing plan!"

"Is it wrong that I have a very, very and feeling about this?"

–––

"Yep, I was correct." Cinder said as she flew through the air, "This was the most stupid idea ever."

"Hey! It's genius!" Ruby cried in protest, "Now we get a birds eye view on everything!"

"Yeah, but have you thought of the fact that we're holding onto the claws of a gigantic nevermore that's probably gonna eat us later?"

Ruby cringed, "We… can just fight it?"

Cinder would have face-palmed if she had a hand to spare.

"Why don't we jump?!" Ruby said, releasing her grip, "Jump!"

"Are you actually fucking crazy?" Cinder screamed as Ruby plummeted down, "Ugh, fine!"

Cinder released her grip as well and fell down.

The nevermore, realising that they had released it, turned around and got ready to dive at them.

"See! This is why I said this was a terrible idea!"

"What?" Ruby screamed over the wind.

"I said, this is a completely, utterly stupid idea!" Cinder screamed back.

"But we're at the forest temple!"

"Yeah, with the biggest nevermore minus one I've ever seen!"

"Oh. Right. I didn't think about that."

"What?!"

–––

~Forest Temple, with Yang and Blake.

"Hey Yang." Blake said, looking at her partner, "Can your sister fly?"

"No, why?"

"Because…" Blake pointed up.

"Watch out!" Ruby screamed.

"Ruby?!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Ruby crashed into Yang, sending both of them to the ground.

A moment later, Cinder landed, a trail of glass behind her. She sighed.

"Why would you jump without a landing strategy?"

"I didn't think that far!"

–––

"Nice to meet you Cinder." Yang said, shaking her hand, "Please treat my sister well."

Then, she leaned closer to Cinder and said, glaring at her, "But if you do _anything _bad to her I _promise _it will not end well for you."

"Ah…haha…" Cinder tried to lightheartedly chuckle, but failed. Terribly, "So, Ruby, which piece should we pick– Ruby?!"

Ruby had already dashed towards the relic and picked out the black queen.

"This one!"

"Why?"

"It symbolises us!"

"How?"

"It shows your versatility and my speed, combined into one."

"i see…"

Then, a death stalker crashed out of the forest, chasing two people, a silver haired one and a white haired one.

"Great! We can all die together." Yang sarcastically said.

"Not funny, Yang."

–––

~A few minutes ago.

"This is it! This _has _to be it." Salem said, pointing at a small cave.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Ozpin said , "I could ask Jinn…"  
"What's the point of living if there are no adventures?"

"So we don't die?"

"Aw, shush."

Salem walked into the cave, and without a choice, Ozpin followed.

"This is it! This has to be it." Salem said, pointed to a glowing yellow object. She reached forward and grabbed it.

"Uh… Salem?"

"Yes?"

"I really don't think that was on the better side of your ideas."

From inside the darkness, red eyes glared at them.

–––

~Present time.

"Is this enough space?" Salem said, turning to Ozpin.

"Yeah, this will be good." Ozpin said, "Set up the hard light, I'll distract it."

He rushed forward twirling his cane.

He narrowly avoided the death stalker's claws, and hit it multiple times with his cane, once in each eye. The death stalker roared, waving its stinger around. Ozpin jumped back, dodging that as well.

"Done!" Salem said.

"Got it." Ozpin said, jumping back. Behind him, multiple barriers of hard light appeared.

Jumping back, he landed on one, and push off, using his momentum to strike the death stalker once before landing on another one.

He moved fluidly between the barriers, striking the death stalker.

With a clinging sound, the stinger flew off the end of the tail. As it flailed around trying to regain its balance, Ozpin leapt above it and struck it one last time, sticking the sword into one of its eyes and releasing a jolt of electricity.

"Well… that was surprisingly easy."

The rest stared at them in shock.

"They… are first years, right?"

–––

The nevermore screeched.

It released a barrage of its black feathers, all of them flying towards the group of people.

"Flower." Cinder said, a massive glass shield in the form of a gigantic flower surrounding them, and the feathers bounced off, "Dust, that's dangerous."

The flower bloomed into a gigantic sunflower, which shot its seeds out, intercepting the feathers.

"Oh boy, this is _not _going to end well."

–––

"I have an idea." Ruby said, "Our objective is right in front of us. Let's just take it and go."

Cinder nodded, smiling, "Run and live. Sounds fun."

Salem and Ozpin walked over and grabbed a chess piece, and started moving.

"I'll stall for time, you guys go on ahead." Cinder said, shooting glass shards out of her hand, "I'll catch up."

Ruby nodded, herding them away.

After they were out of sight, Cinder turned towards the nevermore and smiled.

"Now, what shall we do with you?" Cinder said, a sadistic smile covering her face.

The nevermore screeched in reply.

A shard of glass shot out of Cinder's hand, piercing the nevermore's tail and holding it in place.

"Bye." Cinder said, running, leaving a trail of glass wherever she walked.

–––

"Alright, let's pick up the pace." Cinder said as she caught up to them.

They nodded, and quickened their steps, running towards the northern end of the forest.

From behind them, Cinder heard the sound of glass cracking and a nevermore shrieking.

"Oh well." Cinder said, turning around, "Get ready."

Cinder threw a glass spear at the nevermore, but the nevermore swerved and avoided it.

"Bastard." Cinder muttered.

"I've got it." Ice and fire spears appeared in the sky as Salem raised her hand, and they fell down, piercing both of the nevermore's wings, but not enough to disable its wings.

"Salem!" Ozpin shouted, "Do it!"

Salem nodded, and raised her hand again.

Barriers of hard light appeared in the air, and Ozpin hopped from one to another, moving closer to the nevermore.

He smashed his cane against the side of the nevermore's face, and it screeched, throwing him to the side. He was knocked towards the cliff, but managed to stick his cane into the cliff face and climb up.

"The thing has extremely hard feathers." Ozpin said, falling beside Salem, "It's going to be tough to kill it."

"I have a plan." Ruby said, looking at each of them, "Cinder, please stall for time. Salem, while i'm not to sure what exactly your semblance is, it should be able to help as well."

"Gladly." The two women said in unison before giving each other a high-five.

"And Ozpin. You're going to help me with preparations."

–––

"Alright, ready?" Ruby shouted.

"Yep!"

"Okay, Cinder, you're up!"

Cinder smiled before running forward and jumping off the cliff.

The nevermore, seeing an easy target, dived down. Right before she was about to be eaten, Cinder reached out with her hand, a long whip in her hand. She swing it, wrapping it around the nevermore's neck and flipped herself onto its back. She choked it for a few moments before causing the glass to explode, imbedding multiple shards of glass into its neck.

"First stage – The Fairy Godmother." Cinder chanted, "Glass explosion!"

A single shard of ultra sharp glass appeared out of her hand, burying itself into the nevermore's skin.

"Now!" Cinder shouted, and the extremely dense glass exploded, sending fragments every where.

But these fragments were very, very special.

Each on of them glowed with purple energy.

_Gravity dust._

Salem, who turned out to be a dust mage, had helped her lace the glass with gravity dust.

Cinder jumped off the nevermore's back, then threw another shard of equally powerful glass towards the cliffside. She then activated the earth dust in the glass to cause it to become stuck extremely tight to the cliffside, before causing the gravity dust to activate, sending the nevermore crashing into the cliffside.

"She's good." Salem commented, "This is her first time using dust but it feels like she's been using it for a few years at least."

Ozpin smiled, "But not as good as you."  
"Of course!" Salem said, smiling. Waving her hand, a barrage of fire, ice, lightning and hard light appeared in the air, smashing into the nevermore.

Ozpin then ran up, slashing the nevermore in multiple places.

Finally, it was Ruby's turn. Turning into a spiralling cloud of rose petals, she rocketed towards the nevermore. Cinder and Salem cancelled their dust, causing the nevermore to start falling. Straight into Ruby's scythe.

Gripping her scythe tightly with both hands, Ruby started running up the cliffside, a trail of red roses leading behind her.

Just as she was about to reach the top, the nevermore screeched and clawed at her leg, scratching it.

"Shit–" Ruby screamed as she lost her balance and started falling.

"RUBY!" Cinder screamed, running forward.

The nevermore slowly prepared to eat Ruby whole.

–––

_"Where am I?" Ruby said, looking around._

_"Welcome."_

_"Who are you?" Ruby said, retreating backwards._

_"You know me. For I am you, and you are me."_

_"I don't know you!" Ruby screamed, firing rounds from crescent rose off, but they passed through the figure as if he was made of smoke._

_"Embrace it, heir of Summer Rose. This power was meant to be yours."_

_"No way…" Ruby said, "You can't be…"_

_"So you've finally realised. That's right." The figure said, walking forward, "I am the _**_other _**_you."_

_"How are you here? What are you even doing here?" Ruby screamed._

_"That's for later. Now, make a choice. Do you want power?" The figure said, walking closer._

_"Yes." Ruby replied without hesitation._

_"Why?"_

_"To protect people."_

_"A childish answer, Ruby Rose, but that's just who you are." The figure said, smiling, "Just this time, I will give you your power back without any consequences."_

–––

Ruby's eyes snapped open.

The nevermore loomed closer.

"Ruby!" She heard someone scream.

Then, she felt a change.

And two streams of light poured out of her eyes, turning the world white.

–––

"Ruby!" Cinder screamed as she jumped off the path, a glass trail appearing behind her as she flew through the air.

A moment earlier, Ruby was about to be eaten by the nevermore. The next, white light had come pouring out of her eyes and she had petrified the nevermore.

_What on dust happened?_

Cinder thought to herself as she managed to grab Ruby.

She didn't miss another detail either–She had saw Ruby's hair turn white.

–––

"Lie Ren, Blake Belladona, Yang Xiao Long, and Nora Valkyrie. You have chosen the white rook, and henceforth, shall be known as team RBYN. Led by… Lie Ren." Glynda Goodwitch announced.

**(AN: This one was an actual pain in the fucking ass to think of. Finally, I found this. Pronounced Robin.)**

"Congratulations, Ren!" Nora screamed, wrapping Ren in an ursa hug.

"Nora…" Ren muttered.

"Yes, Ren?"

"Please, get off me."

–––

"And finally, Cinder Fall, Ruby Rose, Ozpin Ambroise and Salem Zeal. You have chosen the black queen, and henceforth, shall be known as team CROS. Led by… Cinder Fall."

**(AN: God, finding a somewhat decent sounding last name for Ozpin and Salem that fit with their respective fairy tales was an actual pain in the ass. Ambroise is one of the wizard of Oz's last names, and Zeal is from the Zel part of Rapunzel with an A added on. It's also kind of ironic because Salem is basically the opposite of being Zealous. Pronounced Chronos. I know it's not a colour, but cut me some slack, please. If you have any ideas, go ahead and hit me with them. Preferably, keep the leader as Cinder or Ruby.)**

_Wait, what?_

"Congratulations!"

"Ugh–"

–––

"Now, for our first order of business!" Ruby shouted, "Unpacking!"

Cinder sighed and walked onto the bed that she had claimed, lying down.

"Hmm? You're not unpacking?"

"I don't have anything to unpack."

–––

"Alright, now, we have out first classes. First, we have grimm studies, led by professor Port." Ozpin said, getting up to go.

"Wait!" Ruby called, "We forgot something super important!"

"What?"

"Introductions!"

–––

"Okay, I'll go first." Ruby started, "My name is Ruby Rose. I hail from patch, a small town near Vale. And this, is my weapon."

Ruby pulled out a sniper gun from behind her cloak.

"It's also a scythe." She said as it transformed, turning into a giant scythe that she swung around with ease.

"Please don't swing that in here."

"My semblance allows me to turn into a swarm of rose petals, granting me increased movement speed."

"Uhh…" Cinder cut in, "What about that light thing?"

Ruby froze.

"I… don't know. It just suddenly happened."

"I see…" Cinder paused, then continued, "Well, I'll go next. My name is Cinder, and I come from _somewhere _relatively close to Vale. I'm not exactly sure where it is, but it's destroyed now, so it doesn't matter. My semblance allows me to create and manipulate glass. I don't use any particular weapon, choosing to use whatever is the most effective one."

"Guess I'll go next." Salem cut in, "Oz is kind of shy, so I'll go next. My name is Salem. My semblance is… an interesting one. I can use any spell that is dust related without actually having dust. Such as causing ice to appear by waving my hand. In Oz's words, it's… similar to magic. I'm a dust mage, so I fight using my semblance primarily, but I also can use knives and martial arts in close combat."

"I'm last, huh? My name is Ozpin. I primarily fight with this cane." He lifted up the Long Memory, "It's quite ancient. It used to be a dusty old family heirloom, but I touched it up with dust and maintenance. I also added a few hidden features to it."

Ozpin smiled before continuing, "As for my semblance… I would… rather not share it. It has the potential to do great harm to the world, and releasing information about it will be too dangerous, even if you are my teammates. I am sorry to say that I do not trust you enough to hand this information to you."

"That's fine." Cinder cut in, "I'm sure everybody has secrets that they want to keep, and I can understand that you can't trust strangers you have just met."

"Alright, team CROS! Now that we're done, to class!" Ruby shouted in her normal overexcited manner.

"Alright." Cinder said, standing up, "Where do we go?"

–––

"Grimm! Demons! Prowlers of the night! Indeed, the creatures of grimm have many names. But I, merely refer to them as prey." Professor Port stopped, waiting to hear the sound of laughter. But none came, and he hurried on, "And so shall you, once you graduate from this academy."

He continued rambling on, going through the weaknesses of an ursa and a beowulf. While Cinder paid attention intently, she noticed that one of her teammates did not.

"Ruby, please focus on class." She quietly whispered over her shoulder, "We wouldn't want you flunking, would we?"

"Now, may we have a brave volunteer who would be willing to demonstrate in front of the class what makes a true huntsman?"

The class was silent.

Cinder sighed once before raising her hand.

"Ms. Fall, is it? Please come down."

"Go Cinder! Show her the power of team CROS!" Ruby screamed as Ozpin and Salem, who were sitting next to her, clutched their ears.

Cinder sighed before extending her hand, a glass sword appearing. She took a step back with her left foot, then raised her hand, twisting her wrist so that it was pointing towards the cage.

"Ready?" Professor Port shouted.

Cinder nodded.

"Go!" Raising his axe, he chopped down the chain, and the door opened.

The instant the door burst open, a pillar of glass shot out from behind Cinder, filling the entire gap with ultra sharp glass needles.

The grimm inside let out a scream as the glass pierced it, turning it into dust.

Cinder sighed.

"That was… surprisingly easy." Cinder said, "But a pleasant change of pace."

"Bravo. Bravo!" Professor Port shouted, raising his axe, "Taking the pre-emptive strike to attack the grimm while it was still getting ready to charge. Out of curiosity, what made you employ this strategy? It may not have worked against slower grimm like Ursa."

"The rattling of the cage." Cinder replied, smiling, "I could hear the sound of horns scraping against the door, and the size also gave it away. It was a rectangle shape leaning down, meaning it wasn't fit to contain an ursa or a beowolf. A king taijitu would be too big to fit in this classroom, same as a nevermore, and a goliath. Not to mention, those are too dangerous to bring into class anyway. Finally, the two red eyes that peered out of the cage weren't positioned the way they should be on any grimm except a goliath or boarbatusk."

"Very well done, Ms. Fall." Professor Port said, clapping, "This calm-headedness and analytical prowess is something we don't see often these days, not to mention your in-depth knowledge of grimm designs. Did you learn about them from someone?"

"No." Cinder replied, "It was just from the diagrams on your walls that I studied before class started, as well as some basic knowledge I used to know."

This time, Professor Port looked truly surprised.

–––

~Lunchtime, at the Cafeteria.

"Cinder! You were sooo cool back then!" Ruby shouted excitedly, "So calm and collected!"

Cinder fidgeted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to receiving praise, especially not of this caliber.

"That's right! You were amazing!" An overzealous Nora said from the table beside them.

"You did perform exceptionally." Ren said as he sliced his pancakes up with a knife.

_Who the hell eats pancakes for lunch? _Cinder thought to herself before looking at Nora.

Similar to Ren, she also had pancakes. But if Ren's pile was a hill, Nora's was a mountain. Not to mention all the maple syrup dripping down the side.

"So, how did you–" Ruby started saying before a voice from another table cut her off.

"Stop it!" Velvet Scarletina screamed as she tried to make Cardin release his grip on her bunny ears.

"Bastard." Cinder muttered under her breath, standing up.

"Cinder, where are you going?" Ruby asked

"_I _am going to teach that retard a lesson." Cinder said, smiling, "A _very, very, memorable one._"

"What if you get caught?"

"I won't."

"I'll help." Blake cut in, drawing their attention.

"Sure." Cinder nodded.

–––

Blake walked forward, carrying a tray of food. Pretending to slip on the floor, she dropped the food on the ground next to team CRDL, drawing their attention.

For a split second, Cardin let go of Velvet's ears.

That was all Cinder needed.

Moving faster than he could perceive, she shot two balls of glass at Cardin's arms, and when they hit him, formed two round spheres around them that were heavy enough to keep his hands stuck to the floor.

Cinder continued walking, indifference covering her face.

–––

"That was great!" Ruby said the moment Cinder sat down, "Cardin didn't even see that coming."

Beside her, John was chuckling into his fist.

–––

After the rest had left, Blake walked over to Velvet.

"Why do you choose not to hide _it_?" Blake asked, pointing at her ears, "Given your skill level, it shouldn't be a problem."

"My father taught me to not be ashamed for what I was." Velvet said, "So I won't."

Blake nodded.

"I see."

–––

~Combat Class.

"Now that the lesson is nearly over, we shall have a few quick spars." Professor Goodwitch said, pulling out her scroll, "The match will be randomised, so do your best, no matter who you are paired against."

A column started spinning.

_Ding!_

"Ruby Rose" Goodwitch announced, "You will be fighting Ms. Nikos. She has graciously offered to help train the first years."

"It was nice knowing you, Ruby." Salem said, laughing, "Try to come out with only minor bruises."

Ruby glared at her before hopping down to the arena, where Pyrrha was stretching.

She pulled Crescent Rose out and readied it, the weapon still in its gun form.

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch shouted, marking the start of the match.

Ruby fired 5 rounds Crescent Rose in quick succession, but Pyrrha blocked them all, either with her shield or sword.

Turning Crescent Rose into a scythe, Ruby charged at Pyrrha, rose petals starting to form behind her.

Jumping up, she swung the scythe down, but was blocked by Pyrrha's shield.

Sheathing her weapon, Pyrrha touched Crescent Rose quickly before pushing it away with her hand.

Of course, that action did not go unnoticed, by Ruby and by the rest of her team.

"She went out of her way to make contact with Ruby's weapon." Ozpin noted, "If I had to guess, than I'd assume it is related to her semblance."

"I would warn Ruby, but this is a match, and we can't. Also, it'll help her train for fighting against opponents who have an unknown semblance." Salem said.

"Heartless." Cinder muttered jokingly.

–––

"Hah!" Ruby yelled as she swung Crescent Rose down, hitting Pyrrha's shield, Akouo, for the umpteenth time.

Pyrrha retaliated with a roundhouse kick, sending Ruby rocketing to the side. Taking aim, Pyrrha threw her javelin at ruby, barely missing her.

Ruby checked their aura levels. She was about 30, which meant that a few well placed hits would eliminate her. Pyrrha, meanwhile, was still on 50, just having hit the orange zone.

Pyrrha grabbed her javelin and advanced once again.

"Alright." Ruby said, "Change of plans."

She turned Crescent Rose back into a gun before turning into a cloud of rose petals, rocketing behind Pyrrha.

Ruby clicked the trigger and fired a few consecutive shots at Pyrrha's open back.

Pyrrha turned around, but was slightly too late.

Just before the bullets were about to hit her, a black aura momentarily surrounded her shield and quickly moved around, intercepting the bullets.

"I've got it." Ozpin said, "Her semblance is polarity, but I'm guessing she has to touch the objects for it to work."

"That's my Oz!" Salem exclaimed, "I knew you could do it."

"Shut up." A cane pierced the air where Salem was a moment ago.

–––

_How did her shield move so fast? _Ruby thought to herself, _I was sure I was about to hit her! I should probably be careful from now on._

Pyrrha smiled at Ruby before charging at her, brandishing her javelin.

Ruby moved to dodge the javelin, but she wasn't expecting Pyrrha to turn around and bash Ruby with her shield instead. Ruby went flying across the room.

_Beep._

"And that's the match." Professor Goodwitch called, "The winner is Pyrrha Nikos! A splendid fight, both of you."

Ruby nodded weakly, before making her way back to the stands.

"Nice job, Ruby." Cinder offered.

"But I lost." Ruby replied.

"It was against one of the strongest students in our school." Cinder replied back, "Not to mention that she's a second year."

The column started spinning again.

With a ding sound, it stopped.

"Ozpin Ambroise." Professor Goodwitch, "You will be fighting Ms. Nikos, again."

"Okay." Ozpin said, standing up, "But isn't this kind of unfair? I mean, Ruby's already chipped at her aura… should I take a handicap?"

"It's fine." Pyrrha said, raising her weapons.

"Okay." Ozpin pulled the long memory out from behind him, clicking the switch so that the end popped out.

"Begin!" Goodwitch called.

In a flash, Ozpin appeared before Pyrrha, hitting her in three different spots in a single instant. Her javelin was knocked out of her hand and she was sent crashing into a wall.

Her aura level dropped by 40.

"Wow, he's good." Cinder said.

"Yeah, Oz is very strong." Salem replied, "He's kind of a training freak, if you get what I mean. He's recovered from that phase now, but he's still strong enough. That's why he uses a cane. If that was a sword, she would probably have been killed by that."

"What?!" Ruby and Cinder said in unison.

–––

Pyrrha stood up. She still held her shield, but seeing how much of her aura he had taken out even through her shield, it was more or less useless.

Pyrrha felt exhilarated. Finally, she might lose. It wouldn't be another one-sided massacre.

Throwing her shield at Ozpin, she ran forward and picked up her javelin.

All she needed to do was to touch his weapon. Based on the amount of force behind it, it was most likely primarily a rare metal like titanium or perhaps even admantium,

She held her spear tight in her hand and charged.

–––

Ozpin sighed.

He may have gone a bit too far with his first attack.

Looking around for a human silhouette in the dust, he felt a presence behind him.

Lashing out with his cane, he cut through air as a red spear flew towards him.

As his cane tore through the air, he moved his left pinkie, spinning it around in circle, blocking the javelin.

The next moment, Pyrrha ran out from the dust, opting for hand to hand combat.

_She's probably trying to use her semblance… _Ozpin smiled, _not like it'll help her, though._

Ozpin swung his cane down, but Pyrrha blocked it with her left armguard before grabbing the cane and throwing him to the side.

Ozpin retaliated by kicking off her arm, spinning through the air before landing on the floor again.

Pyrrha charged again, holding her javelin up high.

"Enyo." Ozpin said, quietly, "Abyssal Black Hole."

This time, a small black sphere formed into the air.

The floor started breaking apart, getting sucked into the hole. Pyrrha too, felt herself slowly drawing near, as did the majority of the students.

As she neared the black hole, Pyrrha felt the tug increase. As the speed that she was moving increased, she hand to press one hand on the floor to slow her down, if only by a little bit.

She then lifted her head, trying to find Ozpin, before finding him.

Ozpin ran forward, moving so fast that Pyrrha could barely track him with her eyes.

Just as his cane was about to hit her, Pyrrha quickly dodged to the side before activating her semblance and trying to divert the path of the cane.

But nothing happened, and the weapon hit her on the chest, sending her crashing into a wall.

"And that's the match!" Professor Goodwitch called, "As we can see, Ms. Nikos's aura is now in the red."

Ozpin walked forward and lifted Pyrrha off the ground.

"Do you know why your semblance didn't work on me?" He said, smiling, "Because my weapon isn't metal. It's orichalcum."

* * *

**AN: And that's a wrap! If I had to summarise this chapter, it'd be something along these lines: Fighting, fighting, and more fighting! God, those team names were a pain in the ass. And yes, I am aware that CRNS is not a colour. Calm down. For characters who will be missing in this series, since I've added 3 new people, I have to remove 3, so Pyrrha is a second year, Weiss studies at Atlas, and Jaune studies at Haven. They might get an appearance during the Vytal festival, who knows?**

**Now, without further adue, let's move onto the reviews.**

**Dorganyorgan: Thanks! Yes, this is Falling Petals. Enjoy.**

**Merendinoemiliano: if you have an idea, I would love to hear it. (I already have something in mind but I'm still open to suggestions and adaptions.)**

**Heavyarms150: Thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to go with that.**

**On that note, hope you all enjoy this chapter, sorry for any grammatical errors, and see you next time.**

**Whoo! That was about 4500 words minus the AN. Bye!**

**P.S There's justification in Ozpin being OP, just wait. Please.**

**P.P.S: We've hit 10 favourites and 15 followers! Yay!**


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